


Another Life

by spikesredqueen



Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-31
Updated: 2015-10-31
Packaged: 2018-04-29 05:15:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5116859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spikesredqueen/pseuds/spikesredqueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Buffy dreams of what can never be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Another Life

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the IWRY Marathon. Beta'd by OKDeanna.

Snuggled beneath thick blankets, Buffy sighed in contentment, resting her head on Angel's chest. She felt safe, at home, with his warm arms wrapped around her body.

The steady beat of Angel's heart made it all clear just how real everything was. 

Angel was human. 

She could finally be with him without fear of losing him to the curse. To what he is -- no, what he was before. 

"It's a good sound. Thump-thump. Thump-thump." Buffy spoke with a lazy smile, tracing her finger tips along the middle of his chest while she basked.

She didn't need to look up to know that Angel was smiling as well. It was in his voice as he said, "It feels pretty amazing." 

Peering up at her lover through her lashes, Buffy felt something tug at her heart. She tightened her arms around his waist. Something changed. The moment felt different somehow. Like the eerie calm before a storm.

"I want to stay awake so this day can keep happening." 

Angel's smile melted to a frown as he gazed over at the alarm clock on his nightstand. "It's 9 o'clock." 

Buffy shook her head, panic surged from within. She couldn't lose him. She wasn't ready. Her eyes already began to well with unshed tears as her heart began to break. 

"No, please, it's not enough time!" 

Angel cupped her face, his eyes glossing over with sorrow. "It's never going to be enough time, Buffy." She leaned into his touch as his thumb gently brushed against the apple of her cheek. "No matter how much we want this, how much it hurts us... this is all we get. We have to be thankful for the time we had." 

A single tear dropped onto Buffy's cheek, her hand splayed flat against where his heart still beat. "I - I can still feel your heartbeat. I'll always feel it."

********************

Buffy awoke with a start, her hazel eyes quickly focusing on the clock in front of her in the empty dorm room.

9:01 p.m. 

The feel of Angel's warmth still surrounded her. Still made her heart ache. She sat up in her bed, frowning. It had only been a dream. No... a nightmare. A nightmare that started after she stopped by Angel's last month.

Buffy stared at the palm of her hand, the memory of feeling the steady thump of Angel's heart felt like her hand had been dipped in scalding hot water. It burned and ached. 

Curling her fingers into a fist, she drew her hand close to her body, holding it with her other one. Only when she shut her eyes did she realize that she cried. The pain she felt had not been in her hand, but in her heart. 

The dreams were becoming so much more real. Too real. Much like incessant memories of another life that will forever linger. A life that she could never have. A life where she could be with the one person she would love forever and be truly happy. 

It haunted her. It always would. 

_"I'll never forget. I'll never forget. I'll never forget."  
_


End file.
